


Death has never been so sweet

by Dalilia



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: (kind of), Happy Ending, Inspired by Hades and Persephone (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), M/M, Mentions of Death, Mentions of Suicidal Thoughts, Minor Character Death, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Soulmates, but it's very positive, dark theme cute story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:34:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23214865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dalilia/pseuds/Dalilia
Summary: Having grown up being able to see ghosts, demons, and Death himself, Kim Minseok is the only one who knows that the god of death has a mesmerizing smile bright enough to make the sun lose its shine. Moreover, he, a mere mortal, has fallen helplessly for this pale, dark-haired young god with feline-like eyes, who, despite the commonly known and feared name Hades, prefers the beautiful name of Jongdae.
Relationships: Kim Jongdae | Chen/Kim Minseok | Xiumin
Comments: 12
Kudos: 57
Collections: SnowSpark Fest Round One





	Death has never been so sweet

**Author's Note:**

> [Prompt #210]
> 
> Warnings: if the title and synopsis aren’t enough warning, there are a lot of mention to death, accidental death or even suicidal thoughts… Please take this into consideration if it is a trigger to you, even if this fanfic has a happy ending and is overall harmless, the theme stays a bit morbid and can be triggering. 
> 
> I am quite proud of myself for being able to submit this work in due time. Although there are some bits I was hesitant about, mostly because I waited until the very last minute to complete this fic so I had no time to proofread in depth like I usuallly do, I am quite satisfied with the ending result.
> 
> I believe I might have taken some liberties compared to the prompt but I tried to respect the prompter's idea the best I could.

It was around one in the morning; Minseok had fell asleep as soon as his parents installed him in the car. The family had been invited for dinner by friends. It had been a joyful evening and not even the slightly burnt chicken could take away the smiles on the faces around the table, in fact, it caused them to grow even bigger. The children had played until ten at night, quite the late hour for four-year-olds. Minseok briefly woke up when they had to leave but his young body was so tired that he could not fight sleep any longer. He looked like a cherub who was stolen to heaven. His slow breathing matched the quiet of the night that was only lit up by the city lights.

It was such a lovely picture, one that should have been left undisturbed for eternity.

That is when chaos erupted.

The roads are usually empty so late at night. The adventurous souls still out there at this time often think that they are alone. It is so easy to forget that danger can be right around the corner. In Minseok’s family case, it came in the form of a drunk driver not stopping at the red light, crashing at high speed into the driver’s side of the Kim’s car. Reports later said his dad died on spot while his mother bled until she died, when the police and emergency services arrived, ten minutes later.

He met him that night, for the first time.

The crash woke up little Minseok and the four-year-old started to cry from the shock until he saw his dad’s ghost, checking up on him, saying things he could not register but the warm voice calmed him down a bit. The world around him looks distorted. It got worse when he felt foreign hands trying to get him out. A stranger had arrived on the scene and saw him barely hurt at the back. Minseok’s crying doubled when he saw that he was getting separated from his parents. This did not stop the stranger. Instead, his velvety voice coaxed the child and petted his hair, trying to appease him.

“You’re going to be fine. Your parents are in good hands little one.”

The man nodded in the air as if to send a signal and directions to someone.

Sirens could be heard in the distance, the stranger put Minseok on the ground. He started to walk away when the child started to cry once more, asking him not to leave. The stranger turned around to look at him with an apologetic smile that slowly morphed into surprise when he realised the child was staring right into his eyes.

“You can still see me…” he whispered.

As sensible as children were, they could sense supernatural activities around them but not see it. Very few people were gifted with this ability –or was it a curse?

They stayed a few seconds like that, looking at each other until the stranger decided to move again and go to the child.

“Sweet child… the world is a dangerous place for someone like you.”

He then proceeded to kiss the child’s forehead, an action that had Minseok giggling from the warmth.

“It tickles Mister Cat!”

The stranger paused for a second before asking:

“Mister Cat?”

“Mister looks like a cat! Mister Cat!”

The stranger smiled.

“I’m known by the name Hades and although the name Jongdae is more to my liking, I think you can call me Mister Cat if you want to.”

“Mister Cat! Jongdae! My name is Minseok and my mom says I look like a cat, like Mister!”

“You’re such a pure soul…” a sad smile crept on Jongdae’s face when he looked at the innocence displayed in front of him. “I need to leave Minseok. I have important things to deal with. People will take care of you. You’ll be a strong cat right?”

Minseok only had time to nod and already Jongdae was far away, heading to somewhere with determination. Soon, the gravity of the situation came back to him and he started to cry again when he realised his parents were nowhere to be seen, not even the ghost resembling his father that was with him earlier. A woman from the rescue team caught him in her arms and brought him to the ambulance parked near the crashed vehicles. She would never be able to explain why she found the dead couple’s child out of the car, on the sidewalk, unharmed.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

Minseok was eighteen years old now. His life had not been the easiest as he had to grow up without his parents and with his abilities to see the supernatural. The ghosts were not the ones who bothered him the most. In fact, some were nice enough that he called them friends. But ghosts were not made to stay on Earth for too long and it was a matter of days or months before they disappeared from Minseok’s life just like they had disappeared from their loved ones’ lives.

The night he lost his parents was engraved in Minseok’s mind. Sometimes, he got vivid dreams in which he was back at being a four-year-old, sat at the back of the car and suddenly there was a crash. When this happened, right before he woke up he always saw a catlike face he could not quite place for some reason. He wondered if it might not have been a ghost that happened to be there at the time. Deep down, he knew that that was not the case.

It had not been easy to reach adulthood while keeping all of his sanity. He also went through a bad depression around eight years old, once the others decided it was time to make him feel how different he was. There was no one to support him at the time except for his aunt who took him in. Even so, he never felt close to her. She was very religious and it made her uncomfortable to live under the same roof as a child who kept telling everyone about his supposed abilities to see the supernatural. Minseok quickly learnt to shut himself off and stay quiet and discreet. He never rejected his gift however, he did ignore it, but it only lasted for a time. Until he met his best friend.

He was thirteen years old by then and for as long as he could remember he had been able to see the supernatural. A gift, he quickly realised, not many people had. In fact, he was the only one of his knowledge with this special sight. It had been difficult at first, learning to live with ghosts sometimes harassing you until you helped them once they realised you could see them. Minseok had learnt really fast how to ignore them. This newly acquired skill also helped with the bullying at school. It all started when he made the wrong decision to ask around him if others could also see ghosts. Children can be cruel with what is considered abnormal behaviour. He learnt it the hard way. He was used to it now though, being called a “freak” and every synonym attached to the word. The bullying was not just words though. It was not a rare occurrence to see him covered in dirt at the end of the day, sure to be scolded by whoever was in charge of him at the time. His face was better acquainted with every existing surface of the school than any of his comrades.

Now leaving elementary school, he hoped that people would forget him once they went to a much bigger school and got mixed up with new students.

It partly worked. The bullying was not as bad as it was as an elementary school student but it was still there. Words travelled fast when they took the form of a rumour. Soon enough, every student of their year was aware of the ghost boy in class 7-1 and did not hesitate to let a mean word or a mocking out when Minseok walked past them.

All of this made him a very wary type of person. That is why, when this one boy suddenly approached, him during recess time, he tried to keep his distance and be ready to escape at any given opportunity. However, the boy did not throw any mean word at him, nor was he trying to hurt Minseok physically. Instead, he took his hand out and asked the question which unknowingly changed his life:

“Hi, I’m Lu Han and my parents are demons’ slayers. I heard that you could see ghosts, my parents can too and they’re the coolest so I believe you must be as well. Let’s be friends!”

Minseok first looked at Lu Han quizzically before he took his own trembling hand out to shake Lu Han’s.

“You… You’re not here to make fun of me right?”

He had never seen the boy before, never noticed him amongst the students taking part in the bullying and part of him hoped that he could trust him.

That was how their friendship began and how Minseok met his best and only friend. It did not take long for them to discover that they had more in common than just the supernatural. In fact, they found out that they both were huge football adepts, Lu Han not waiting long before he introduced his impressive Manchester United merchandising collection to Minseok.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

Without knowing, Lu Han also introduced Minseok to a new life purpose.

Lu Han’s parents taught him everything he needed to know in order to become a ghost helper and demon slayer like them. When they introduced their unusual “job” to him, they did not forget to tell him about the bigger picture and what it was really about.

With two deaths per second in the world, being in charge of the Underworld was not as easy as it used to be in the beginning of times. Not that Hades had much to do anyways. His trustable furies helped him and saw their number growing as did the world demography. The furies’ role was simple: welcome and accompany the souls of the deceased and decide what to do of them and where to send them. Not all deaths could be dealt with in such easy manners however. Sometimes, the souls did not even go to the Underworld, due to unresolved matters on Earth. Those were known as ghosts. Hades would see them years, decades or even centuries after their death if they ever resolved the matter that had them stuck on Earth. Sometimes however, these souls forgot themselves and why they were still on Earth in the first place, those were the souls that let themselves eaten by the dark energy of their feelings. Those souls turned into demons and there was not much Hades could do with them. Fighting demons was not part of his job and supervision duties but belonged to the sons of other gods, like Ares. His job was easy in the end, supervise the work of his furies, attend godly meetings at Olympus once in a while when his brother Zeus deemed it necessary and deal with unusual or confusing deaths only he could deal with.

“In a way, we are human furies.” They said.

For some reason, Minseok liked that idea, liked the thought that he was helping Hades, a god everyone feared but who inspired him trust and tickled his curiosity. He started to call himself a fury too.

He ended up training with Lu Han who was expected to follow his parents’ step. When they were done sparring or studying, they sometimes still found some energy to play football and ended up sitting on the low wall bordering the football court in the neighbourhood.

Most of the time, they talked about minor subjects such as the latest results of the Premier League. At times though, they could get into more heart-to-heart conversations.

It was one of these days where Minseok decided he needed to share some of his deepest feelings to his best friend. They were hanging out at their usual spot; Minseok was working on a flower crown made of the daisies that covered the field. It was a sunny afternoon of May, birds were chirping and Lu Han was basking in the sun, eyes closed and a small smile on his lips.

“I want to see him again.”

“Who?”

“The man who saved me.”

Lu Han kept silent, observing his friend’s longing expression. It was not the first time that Minseok expressed this idea; in fact, it had become more regular as time went by.

“I don’t know… I get this strange feeling that pushes this idea at the front of my brain, it’s like the more I think about it, the less I can get rid of it… He keeps appearing in my dreams, I feel like no matter what I do, he always ends up creeping in my thoughts!”

“We should try to find him then.”

“But how? I don’t even know if he was a regular man or some supernatural being like a ghost or worse, a demon!”

“You know he can’t be a demon, he would not have saved you.”

“Whatever. I have to go home.”

Minseok dropped his flower crown to the ground and stood up. Lu Han watched as his best friend walked away, shoulders sagged and eyes not leaving the ground. It hurt to see someone you cared about in so much pain. He wished he could help Minseok but there was nothing he could do, unfortunately. He grabbed the flower crown and put it on his head then resumed to his sunny nap.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

“Minseok! On your right!”

Minseok ducked down in time to avoid getting hit by a brick that was thrown at him with supernatural forces. This demon was being particularly difficult to deal with and it was only the two of them. Although demons slayers could work on their own, it was highly recommended for them to work in pairs if they could. That was what Lu Han’s mom said, at least. Pairing up together was obvious and not even something the two best friends needed to consider. They had already gained some experience thankfully.

Lu Han’s parents had been wonderful mentors. After completing their training around the age of nineteen, the two friends started to go on missions with them to “watch and learn” as Lu Han’s parents had explained. Their debuts as a pair, acting on their own, were rough. Lu Han got hurt by the second demon they encountered together; it got pretty serious and worried Minseok because they learnt that a wound induced by a demon was always very nasty and dangerous, due to some supernatural factors playing into it. Thankfully, it healed nicely and the chapter was over.

Now they were more experimented and usually dealt with the demons in record time. ‘If only all of them could cooperate’ was Minseok’s thought as he wiped the sweat on his forehead. How was it that this single demon was giving them such a hard time? The brick exploded in dust as soon as it collided with the wall next to him. He shuddered at the thought of what it could have done to him, had Lu Han not warned him. They never had time to dwell on such thoughts, however, and he quickly started to move again, joining his friend in their usual dance. It was a wonder that no one had been curious enough to check what the commotion was about in this back alley they had been fighting in for minutes now. Minseok would not be able to tell if it was really minutes or if this has not been going on for hours at this point. He was tiring himself more and more when Lu Han looked like he still could go on for a long time. That was good news as they needed at least one of them in good shape to get them both out of this bad situation.

Finally, as Minseok felt like his legs were about to give up on him, Lu Han managed to get the demon in a lockdown and screamed to Minseok to stab their special dagger in the demon’s chest. Just as the blade broke the flesh apart and started to destroy the dark soul, the demon managed to get its right arm out of Lu Han’s hold and grabbed Minseok’s wrist to make him pull the blade out, digging its claws into his skin doing so. The demon slayer let out a yelp as if he touched fire and let go of the dagger. Damage was done however and soon all that was left was a pile of dust, representing the demon’s physical body, his soul already sent to the Underworld to be properly dealt with.

The two boys were panting, beads of sweat running down their faces.

“I started to believe we’d never make it” stated Lu Han. Minseok only nodded. “Let’s go now. I think that’s something we should talk about with my parents.” He grabbed Minseok’s wrist as he said that which pulled another yelp from the latter’s mouth. Lu Han halted his steps and turned with a frown to his friend.

“Are you hurt? Does it hurt somewhere?”

Minseok put his hand on his now free wrist but Lu Han was quick to put it away and roll his sleeve up. He became more frantic at what he saw.

“Oh no! No! No! No! We need to go back to my parents right now this is not good! Why didn’t you tell me he hurt you?!”

“It needed to be dealt with.”

“You’re more important than that… Now stop talking we’re going home.”

They managed to make it home both standing on both legs, which was a miracle on its own but as soon as Minseok’s parents opened the door, Minseok who was starting to feel feverish and unstable fainted on the spot. The last things he heard being the panicked words from his best friend and the calming orders of the latter’s mother: “Call Him.”

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

Lu Han barely had time to blink before he saw a car speeding towards his friend who did not look like he intended to move. He got up and started to run towards the boy yelling for him to move. Minseok looked like he made up his mind however and looked defiantly at the car. Time seemed to have slow down around them. Even the tears welling up in Lu Han’s eyes seemed to take their sweet time to form.

Then everything stopped around Minseok. The car, his friend, the noises… It was just him, looking at the horrified look on the driver’s face. A face he could somewhat not picture. He did not move, still. That was when he heard it, the shuffling of cloth near him followed by an exasperated sigh.

“It is not your time to die, what are you playing at.”

The voice sounded familiar but Minseok could not place it. The only thing he could feel was warmth suddenly spreading from his forehead to the rest of his body, replacing the frozen feeling that wrapped him and dragged him into a deeper and more dangerous sleep. It felt like his blood suddenly turned to gold, a strange fire setting his heart and soul ablaze. He woke up in a dream, surrounded by stony walls and purple flowers. Neon blue butterflies were flying around and the only sound that could be heard was that of a stream. Minseok sat up and looked around him, his eyes taking in this strange environment, wondering where he could be. Not knowing what to do or where to go, he decided to weave a flower crown with the beautiful flowers he had never seen before. A melody reached his mind and he started to sing to himself with a voice so soft not even the butterflies might have been able to listen to it. As dark as a cave could be, not one soul could deny how bright this one was right at this moment. It was like Minseok belonged there and the whole place was in a poetic harmony. The moment continued out of space and out of time, a notion which was completely lost. Minseok had never felt more at peace before.

Then he felt tiredness taking over his small body until he could not stand anymore and fell back to sleep amongst the flowers, unaware of the soft gaze that watched upon him since the beginning, content to finally find the most beautiful flower in his secret garden.

“… seok! Minseok!”

The boy blinked with difficulty, trying to clear his eyes of the blur covering them. His mind was fogged and he was confused as to where he was, what time it was and what happened for him to wake up and find himself in such a state. He opened his mouth and tried to produce a sound but quickly realised his voice was gone and his throat feeling like sandpaper.

“It’s alright Seok, you’re alright, don’t overexert yourself please.”

Minseok could only nod at this and closed his eyes for a moment, to chase the ache in his head. He gathered the little of information he collected in these few minutes in his mind and came to the conclusion that this was Lu Han, his best friend Lu Han talking to him and that he was probably at the other’s house. With this newfound knowledge, he felt more relaxed and went back to sleep.

He woke up, at last, a few hours after that. His vision was now much clearer and the ache in his head dulled down. Only the feeling of sandpaper in his throat remained as it was the last time he opened his eyes. He looked around the room but saw no one, only the painting and pot of flowers decorating the guest room at Lu Han’s parents’ home. He smiled unconsciously while focusing on the flowers; they were a mix of blue and purple, colours which reminded him of a recent almost feverish dream.

He only had to wait before the door opened on his best friend’s mom, who apparently came in to check up on him. She let out a relieved sigh when she saw him awake and conscious.

“How are you doing sweety?”

He looked at her with round eyes, signalling he was not in the capacity to speak.

“Oh, dear! Of course you can’t speak… Wait for a second, I’ll bring you water.” She walked out of the room, leaving the door open for a frantic Lu Han to replace her.

“MINSEOK! I was so worried, I thought you’d never wake up even though he… Anyways, I’m so relieved to see you conscious, you have no idea how worried I was and how guilty I felt for not protecting you better…”

Minseok shook his head as hard as he could, not wanting to let his friend believe for one more second that he was to blame for whatever put him in this state. According to his last memories, it appeared to be the demon they fought but then again, his memories were not the best for now.

He tried to open his mouth to talk but all the breathe he had inside his lungs got released by the tight hug Lu Han suddenly gave him. Resigned he could only reciprocate and smile, enjoying the affection for the moment it lasted.

That is how Lu Han’s mother found them, sharing all their love for the other in a tight embrace. She decided against disturbing them and put the water on the bedside table for Minseok to find when he would want to take a sip.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

It took a few more days for Minseok to be completely back on his feet. The demon that wounded him was a big one apparently and it could have ended tragically had it not been for some secret medicine Lu Han’s family used on him. No matter how much he asked though, they would not disclose what it was to him, telling him it was a family secret. Minseok could understand, of course, but part of him was hurt that after all they had been through together and after all they had shared, they would still not fully consider him as family. Being resilient, however, he did not dare to utter a single word on the matter.

Life went back to normal and the incident got slowly but surely pushed to the back of everyone’s mind. Minseok and Lu Han after a few weeks went back on missions, the first ones being to help ghosts still wandering in this realm. Lu Han’s parents categorically refused for them to go back to chasing demons. Minseok had no other choice but to accept seeing as his best friend sided with his parents. Lu Han had ended up being traumatised by the event and no matter how much Minseok assured he was doing fine and recovered well, Lu Han still went in overprotective mode at any given opportunity.

“But Lu… it is our duty, to help the ghosts but also to chase the demons… Who knows what they could do to other people? I am lucky enough to have you by my side but not everyone is!”

After a couple of months of pleading, finally the entire family agreed to let them go back to demon slaying but under strict conditions. First of all, in any case of imminent danger for the safety and life of any of them, they had to drop the mission and come back home. Second of all, they had to share their location with Lu Han’s parents every time they encountered a demon, so that they could come as soon as possible if help was needed, or would know where to find the feral soul if the two came back home without having been able to defeat it. Those were acceptable conditions and Minseok agreed as all that mattered to him was to be able to fulfil his duty.

So they kept on going with their lives. What Minseok kept to himself, however, was how clearly he now remembered his fever dreams. How clearly he could still hear the voice that talked to him. How he could not help but to associate it with a face he saw more and more often in his daily dreams. The man who saved his life when he was young; Minseok wondered if he also saved his life this time. Maybe guardian angels were real and it was Minseok’s. He would not be surprised to learn that as he was getting more and more familiar with the supernatural part of the world –or worlds he might say. He would ask Lu Han’s family but he felt like they were hiding something from him for a reason and that he should not push it. Still, it tickled his curiosity and the more time went by, the more he died to know the truth.

He took action on a fall afternoon, while they were all gathered in the living room around a cup of tea. Lu Han’s parents were quietly discussing gardening while Lu Han was stealing glances at his best friend, knowing something was up.

“Spit.”

Minseok looked up to meet Lu Han’s knowing gaze. He worried his bottom lip not caring about it getting chapped later.

“I’ve been wondering about the incident and my healing…”

Lu Han’s parents suddenly turned to look at him, observing his behaviour, staying alert like they do when they know a supernatural entity is near. Minseok gulped and dropped his eyes to the steaming cup of tea behind his hands. The others kept quiet, waiting for Minseok to speak. Only the ticking of the old clock filled the silence in the room.

“Are guardian angels real?”

Lu Han’s father who was drinking some tea choked on it, making his wife turn to him to help him with taps on his back.

“No, they do not. Angels as they are known in the monotheist religions do not exist. There are celestial beings guarding and keeping the Gods’ realm.” Answered Lu Han’s mother.

“They can hardly be called angels though.” Added Lu Han.

The last sentence only helped to spike Minseok’s curiosity further.

“You met some? You’ve been to the Gods’ realm? When? How?”

Lu Han’s parents looked at him full of disapproval.

“Oops… Did I say too much?”

“There are things you don’t need to know Minseok.” Simply answered Lu Han’s mother.

“But…”

“End of discussion.” She said more firmly this time while standing up to clean the table. She did not forget to spare a menacing glance to her son who had no choice but to obey and stay mute.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

Later that night, Minseok could not stop thinking. There had to be a way for him to know. He tried to remember everything about his encounters with his “guardian angel”. Somehow it always happened when his life was at risk. Maybe he needed to use that to his advantage? But how could you put your own life at risk, as a weak human against bigger forces. He could let a demon hurt him again. He could work with the uncertainty of this plan working but he knew Lu Han would not be able to handle another traumatic experience like that again, so demons were out of the question. He thought about his dream. Was it a message? Did he need to put himself in front of a car? His memory went back to the faceless driver; this was not it. He had to think about something that would not involved a third-party. If he had to confront death, he needed to get away from here first. He had to break free from Lu Han and his family’s hold. He understood why they became even more protective of him lately. He could not blame them as he would react all the same if something like that had happened to Lu Han. Hell, he did freak out when Lu Han got hurt by a demon but at least his best friend’s life was not at risk!

He thought this to and through all night and with the first colours of aurora that peeked through his blinds, he was decided on finding answers at Lu Han’s family home first. They obviously knew something and there had to be information hidden somewhere amongst the impressive number of books they had been keeping in the office. He hated the very idea of betraying their trust but he hated even more the idea of hurting them with what would pass off as a suicidal behaviour. And maybe it was suicidal, but for completely different reasons that one would normally expect.

That is how he found himself one Sunday afternoon, sneaking into the study while the entire family went out for “family reasons” they answered when Minseok asked what they would be doing on Sunday. He faked a pout and disappointment, as if he expected to meet with his best friend but inside, his plan started to be put into action. As their almost adoptive son –the reason it was not official was because no one ever bothered with the formalities, the family had trusted him with a key to the house of his own. Until now, they did not have any reason to doubt him and his intentions. Had they known what he had planned, they would maybe have tried to change things.

The study was bathed in sunlight, the windows placed in a favourable south-west orientation. It made things a bit easier for Minseok who could see better but also feel the lingering warmth of sunrays getting through the windows’ glass. He had seen this place a couple of times but usually, they knew to stay out of it, knowing Lu Han’s parents were probably in there and, really, not having any interest in going in. He knew, however, that this was the place where they kept all of the books about the supernatural, ghosts, demons and everything they had needed to be taught along those years of training they went through. Some of the books in there he could therefore recognise; most of the others he could not. What made his search more difficult was that they were all old-looking books, covered in leather with no indication whatsoever of what the content was about.

After half an hour of searching and coughing due to all the dust laying on some of these works, Minseok was starting to feel really desperate. He decided to take a five minute break to refocus. He would find the answer no matter the cost. Something in him told him he had to, that there was something much bigger to the whole situation. He briefly closed his eyes only to open them when he felt the sunrays tickle his face. He might have briefly dozed off seeing as the light had shifted in the room. He got up and looked once again around him. That is when he caught it. The ray of sunshine that was just now tickling his face was now highlighting a strange dark looking book he had not noticed earlier. Feeling some sort of string inside of him tugging, encouraging him to check, he walked the two steps that separated him from the curious object and squatted down so that he could grab it.

What happened, however, was not what he had expected. At all. Instead of finding himself with the book in his hand, Minseok now had to watch the bookcase tremble, looking like it would crumble down into pieces or fall onto him at any given time now. He stepped back for safety reasons only to see the piece of furniture slowly moving to the side, letting some sort of dark space that was hidden behind it appear. If Minseok was not so disturbed by his discovery, he would have found it so cool for his best friend to have a secret hiding place in his family house. After a moment, all movements stopped and Minseok could make out some sort of stairs going down from this strange new place. It was too late to go back now, he could not care less about breaking his adoptive family’s trust, he knew this was the way to find answers. Literally. He moved forward until he found himself on the very top of the stairs. It was dark but he still could see. A soft neon blue light seemed to be making its way up from the bottom of wherever the stairs could lead.

Slowly, he started to make his way down the stony dark stairs. It felt like forever until he finally reached the bottom. He did not know what he was expecting –maybe a secret cellar, but he arrived in a cave all made from stone that glowed nice neon blue. In front of him were two holes, perhaps two possible paths to who-knows-where. Once again, Minseok was met with a newfound obstacle on his road to uncover the truth. Suddenly, a neon blue butterfly caught his eye. It sure was familiar looking; in fact, it looked exactly like the butterflies he had seen in his fever dream. The butterfly flew a bit around him as to draw his attention and when it got it, it started to fly away to the left hole. Minseok’s heart was now beating fast, this was huge. He did not hesitate before following the strange insect. They progressed through the seemingly endless tunnel. It was so dark but everywhere he looked around, the stones kept emitting the same soft neon blue.

Finally, the light at the end of the tunnel could be seen and soon enough, Minseok was back to the clearing from his fever dream. Now feeling much better though, he could appreciate how it was, in fact, not really a clearing but more of a flower field in the middle of a giant cave made of glowing stones. The sight was incredible and Minseok could not believe his eyes; it was even more beautiful than in his memories. The atmosphere was so peaceful and the only sound he could hear was the one of the stream a bit further away. He took his time to take it all in. The butterfly had now joined his kind. They were flying around the cave in a ballet that one could only admire. Everything here transpired grace and beauty. The grass was a deep night blue which complemented the purple of the flowers really well. Minseok crouched down to caress the petals of one of them. It felt like velvet under his fingers and he could feel warmth coming from it, warming his fingers with the same feeling as a sip of coffee going down his oesophagus. After taking some time enjoying the warmth, he stood up and made his way to the stream. When he reached the bank, he could only open his eyes at the sight in front of him. As much as it looked like water, millions of lights were almost blending with it, making it look like a river of light. Unsure, he started to reach his hand out to try the water but he was immediately stopped by a hand grabbing his wrist.

“Don’t. It is as dangerous as it is beautiful.”

His heart stopped. He turned his head to the voice and it seemed like time also stopped as he met the eyes of the one he had been looking for all this time.

“You… It’s you…”

He took in the stylish brown almost black hair, the porcelain skin, the high cheekbones and the definitely one of a kind mouth with corners upturned so that even without smiling, it looked catlike. The man moved forward and grabbed Minseok by the hip to help him up and take him away from the bank of the stream. It felt all too hot for Minseok suddenly. Surely, this warmth did not come from the flowerbed… He could not know his face was the strongest indicator yet that all of it came from him. His heart which previously stopped from fear and apprehension of mistaking was now beating so hard at the sight of the man he wanted the most to see. No matter how much he had dreamt of him, his imagination would never have been able to catch up with the reality. The man was so gorgeous he was definitely not human. Minseok had to fight the urge to reach a hand out and caress his face, feel his skin that looked so smooth and pure of any flaws. He knew, however, that this was not the best idea seeing how the man reacted to him reaching out to a mere stream.

The man sighed and let go of Minseok who sighed in return, but more of disappointment. Silence kept filling the air but the man was slowly losing all his tension.

“Are you alright?”

Minseok could only nod, afraid of not being able to speak normally if he tried. He could not take his eyes of the majestic being in front of him. The way he took him in his arms, even while keeping some distance was enough for him to crave more. If looking for this man felt like a necessity, it had now turned to pure want and desire. He could not explain why but he wanted to take everything the man standing before him could give, wanted to give him everything in return. Minseok also could not help but feel the urgent need to worship him.

“Who are you…? I thought you’d be my guardian angel but I’ve been told they don’t exist so…”

The man did not even bother to fight the small smile that appeared on his face hearing that, making him look even more catlike than before to Minseok’s dismay.

“Has anyone told you that you really look like a cat?”

If the man was smiling before, he was now full on chuckling. His gaze softened and he looked at Minseok with an unreadable expression but so much fondness, Minseok felt like he could melt on the spot.

“I believe you already did, Minseok.”

“Wait! What do you mean by that? How do you know my name?”

Even if he was kind of awe-struck for some reason, he still retained logical reasoning. This did not add up in his mind. Was everything he dreamt about until now real stuff? Was this man playing with him?

“You told me your name when I first saved you, and you also said I looked like a cat, insisted on calling me “Mister Cat” even… Don’t you remember?” The man asked with a smirk, knowing well that this would be embarrassing for Minseok.

True to that, the latter’s cheeks reddened again and his eyes were round with mortification. Of course he remembered and of course his brain did not make the connections. 

“Oh, my sweet Minseok… Don’t look so horrified, I keep a very fond memory of your four-year-old innocent self. You were the cutest child I had the privilege to lay my eyes on, and I cannot say I haven’t seen my fair share of children already. You asked who I was?” Minseok nodded. “I am but the Master of this place. Some call me King, others don’t call me out of fear; my birth name is Hades but I’ve taken quite the liking to the name of Jongdae.”

“How… Why… But you…”

“Please take a moment, for we have all the time in the world. Do you know where we are?” Minseok shook his head. “This is my secret garden, my heaven in hell I might say; although we do not go by this idiocy of monotheism and Manichaeism of heaven and hell. This is the Underworld and the river behind you is called the Styx. It is where the souls end up after their life on Earth has come to an end. Our job is to be with them from the moment the Fates cut the string of their lives, to the moment they arrive here so that we can send them away to rest in peace in the Styx. Sometimes, when the Fates decide it, they are called back to experience a new life in the mortals realm. This rarely happens, the soul needs to be in its purest form which takes very long and depends on how well the previous life was lived. It can get overwhelming to live amongst this never-ending flow of souls and furies, so I created this place. Do you like it?”

Minseok nodded to that. He really could feel the calming energy vibrating in every particle of the air filling this place. He wished this could also be his getaway when things were getting difficult and he needed to cool his head off. Finding a way to be alone when Lu Han was always fussing over him was one of the biggest challenges he had to face in his day-to-day life. All of a sudden the thought of how he came to be here in the first place crashed down on him. How come Lu Han’s family home hid the entrance to hell? Was it even the only one or were there others? What was it really all about? Jongdae seemed to notice his agitation and put a calming hand on his shoulder, to help him refocus.

“Take a big breathe Minseok, it’s alright. I know it’s a lot but we can take all the time you need.”

Minseok did not know how he did it but somehow, he calmed down. Maybe Jongdae’s touch helped, maybe it was his gaze, maybe something in this place worked its magic on him, like the warming flowers.

“I have so many questions…” He simply whispered, to which Jongdae nodded and proceeded to silently guide both of them to a bench made of stones that Minseok had not noticed until now.

They were both sat on the bench, Minseok was nervously playing with his fingers, not knowing where to start or even what to ask. Jongdae, like he promised, was not pressuring Minseok and, instead, was patiently waiting for him to speak up whenever he was ready. Anxiety was creeping back on Minseok’s mind but it all came to a stop when Jongdae surprised him with the gentlest gesture anyone had ever done to him. It was knowledge to everyone that Minseok was a sucker for flowers. Spring was his favourite season, he always felt connected to this moment of rebirth and beauty. He was a master at flower crown making. So when Jongdae picked a flower nearby and put it behind Minseok’s ear, his breathe hitched and his heart welcomed a feeling he had never encountered before. Even freshly separated from the ground, the flower did not lose its warmth and the feeling was very grounding to Minseok. He grabbed Jongdae’s hand and put it on his chest so that the latter could feel how grateful his heart was.

After a few more minutes, Minseok finally decided to ask away whatever was on his mind.

“I have many questions. First of all, I came here through stairs I found hidden in my best friend’s family house. How and why did it end up here? Second of all, if you’re not my guardian angel then why did you save me? We already established that it was you, the day of the crash, but I know it was also you, that time I got hurt by a demon… Surely the King of the Underworld must have better and more important things to do.”

“Are you sure you really want to know the answers to all these questions? Do you think you can handle the feelings that will come with the truth?”

“Yes.” Minseok had never been so sure in his life.

“Very well then. About the stairs, I have workers here, in the Underworld. They’re called furies. Have you heard of them?” Minseok nodded, remembering everything Lu Han’s parents had taught them –him, during their training. “Your best friend’s family is part of the oldest family of furies to have worked with me. I believe they have been around for over ten millenniums now… Oh, but don’t make this face! They’re mortals, like you, although a fury does live for a longer time than humans do, they are not of the godly rank that allows you to attain immortality!”

Well, this explained a lot to Minseok. How they knew so much about the souls of the dead wandering on Earth under ghostly or demonic forms. How Lu Han, although hurt by a demon, did not risk death like Minseok, a mere human did. How they stayed secretive, to appear like a normal human family in front of Minseok and the others. But Minseok was not the others. He thought he was part of their family now and, of course, he was not demanding them to share all their secrets with him, but surely something this big they should not have hid it from him! They taught him everything he knew about the supernatural and it looked at the time like they had no filter. And then, how much did Lu Han know already when they started training? Was he not born in the Underworld?

“I believe you’ll need to talk with them. Now that you know, I’m sure they will gladly tell you everything. Do not be too harsh on them too; we have strict terms when it comes to working as a fury in the mortal realm. I insist they act human by all means. Furies grow up like normal humans then the older they get, the slower they age and by the time they die, they’re already centuries old.”

“Wait, like vampires?”

Jongdae looked at Minseok with a confused expression and the human did not think the Lord of Death could look that cute. If humans knew that the incarnation of death was just a godly-cat-looking guy…

“What is that?”

They looked into each other’s eyes for a few seconds.

“Never mind, please go on.”

“Alright so that answers your first question. The second question… I saved you because I did not want anymore unwanted casualties caused by a reckless demon let on the loose. Usually my furies are enough to handle the mess caused by demons; you worked with them so you know what I’m talking about.” Minseok nodded. “Sometimes, demons are too much to handle or they stay under the radar and we’re not aware of them until damage is done. That’s what happened that night and why I was here. The car accident was caused by a demon on the loose. The driver that hit your parents’ car had not drunk one drop of alcohol, he just had the misfortune to find himself on the path of that demon which did not wait to possess him. As I had been informed of the incident by a fury, I came as fast as I could so that I could handle this case and deal with this demon but I saw you, you looked so fragile and defenceless I couldn’t help but stop and make sure you were okay. That night I noticed you were different and could see me even in my godly form so I gave you a blessing to protect you from hurt caused by ghosts and demons alike. I was happy to know that you were living peacefully despite your gift. I became worried when I learnt that you would engage in fury’s duties while not being one but hold on the thought that I gave you protection and as much as you decided to meddle in this mess, nothing serious would happen to you. I was wrong. That time, when you got hurt, I had never seen furies so panicked and I knew something bad happened. You don’t come and get Hades for simple wounds. I had to bring you here so that you could heal. Do you know what is so special about these flowers?”

“They emit warmth?”

“Not quite but not far. The warmth you feel is in fact the healing properties they carry. Maybe healing is not the right wording to use but to make it short, these flowers have the capacity to absorb very dark energy, purify it and feed it back to the ground. This is what helps to keep this place so peaceful. The purified energy then turn into this soft neon blue glow you can see around.”

Minseok was in awe, completely forgetting about the serious talk they were having previously. He forgot for a moment the ache in his heart caused by his best friend’s lies and the tragic truth of his parents’ death. Maybe this was also thanks to the flowers.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

They had to part at some point and Minseok could not help the pout on his lips. Jongdae had not been able to resist him, offering that he could come to this place anytime he needed and Jongdae would come find him. He would know because he knew about everything that happened in the Underworld. Something about being personally linked to the realm, he said.

Minseok ended up having a long, needed talk with Lu Han and his family once he came back to the surface. They had apologised for keeping the secret and assured him that it was pure coincidence that they met him and took him under their care. Although he had not voiced it out in front of Jongdae himself, Minseok had started to doubt the intentions of his adoptive family and wondered if they had not been sent by Jongdae to watch over him specifically. The King of the Underworld did say he had kept checking on him after the incident.

After that, he started to regularly visit the flower field in the Underworld and meet with Jongdae. Sometimes they talked, Minseok asked questions to quench his thirst of knowledge and Jongdae would patiently answer all of them. Other times, they simply sat together in the field, amongst the flowers and Minseok would craft flower crowns for both of them, smiling when he saw Jongdae wearing his. It was a sight to see the Lord of the place, all fearsome and always dressed in black, wearing such an innocent and colourful headpiece.

As time went by and they got to know each other, Minseok found himself more and more smitten with the God of Death than he had been before. He liked to compare their growing relationship to that scene in The Little Prince where the fox asked the Little Prince to tame him and taught him how it should be done: _"First you will sit down at a little distance from me--like that--in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings. But you will sit a little closer to me, every day…"_ Minseok was the Little Prince and Jongdae was the fox. They were now at a point where the fox would peacefully nap with his head resting on The Little Prince’s legs.

Minseok had found out that his first feeling of attraction to the man had been because of the blessing. There was no denying, however, that Jongdae’s charms had sparked a new sort of attraction. When he talked about it with Lu Han, the latter had simply exclaimed:

“You can’t be in love with the King of the Underworld! How crazy is that?”

Love was a big word. But a big word was fitting for big feelings so Minseok tried it, learnt about it and slowly tamed it until he made it his. Yes, there were definitely buds of feelings of love now growing attached to his heart. One thing was bothering him though, and that was the age gap. Jongdae had been living probably since the beginning of time and Minseok was only passed twenty years of life. It was not a matter of years nor decades here, not even a matter of millenniums! Also Jongdae had known him as a child, had watched him grow from far away, would that not be weird? Lu Han was right, this was madness. Yet, Minseok felt like it was too late now. In fact, he felt like the second he met Jongdae, it was a lost cause already.

“Jongdae?”

“Mmh?”

“Can you become immortal?”

“What do you mean? I already am…”

“No. I mean, can a mortal like me become immortal?”

They were lying in the flower field, enjoying the time they were spending together as they usually did. Jongdae sat up, however, hearing that question, all senses alert.

“I think it could be possible but why are you asking?”

Minseok did not answer and chose to ask another question.

“Doesn’t it get boring after all this time, to still exist and never get to die?”

Jongdae observed Minseok with his piercing gaze, trying to probe him. There was little about him that Minseok could now hide from Jongdae and the other knew very well when something was up in the mortal’s mind.

“Sometimes it can feel lonely, but I have my family, and my furies. To be honest, I never had to reconsider my existence. It’s just who I was brought to this world as and what I was destined to be.”

“You’d tell me if you ever feel lonely, right?”

“I don’t think I have ever felt lonely since the time I met you Minseok.”

“You didn’t?” Jongdae shook his head and Minseok’s heart was now beating so hard it felt like it would escape his chest anytime.

“I wish I were immortal too, so that you’d be sure to never feel lonely anymore.” Minseok whispered loud enough for Jongdae to catch it.

Silence filled the space around them but somehow, it felt deafening. They both had started to spend time together and create a relationship with each other for about a year now. This seemed like nothing to Jongdae but it was very different for Minseok. He knew deep down that there was something more about their relationship, something inevitable, almost mystical. Little did he know that the feeling was mutual. Jongdae had felt the pull to Minseok when he met the baby. He knew there was something special to this boy, that the two were connected, somehow. Maybe it was a trick from the Fates; maybe it was bigger than that. All he knew was that he would care for the boy, for as long as fate would allow him.

“Jongdae…” The God’s head jumped at the apostrophe, brought back to the present and away from his thoughts. He looked at Minseok to let him know that he had his full attention. The mortal took a breath in before speaking up again. “Do you still see me as a child?”

Jongdae studied the boy’s face; he looked quite apprehensive, probably afraid of what the answer would be. Minseok was afraid Jongdae would never consider him as a love interest. He wanted to give all of his self to Jongdae, wanted to be the one call the King of the Underworld his. If the latter did not respond to these feelings, Minseok felt like he might as well dive head first into the Styx, knowing that he would never make it back.

He could never have been prepared to what happened. Instead of giving him a verbal answer, Jongdae leaned forward and chastely pressed his lips on Minseok’s. Was he dreaming? Was this really happening? A thousand thoughts were springing to his mind. Doubt also. Did this kiss hold the same meaning for Jongdae as it did to Minseok? The former seemed to sense his distress and softly caressed his cheek until his eyes were focused again.

“As a matter of fact I don’t, Minseok. I believe you are my soul mate, sent to me by fate after all this time, almost to reward me of being so patient unlike some of my brothers. I believe you are that to me, the perfect companion.”

“But… I’m not immortal…”

“There is a way for us to spend eternity together. You would only need to change your diet to the Gods’ one. Ambrosia and nectar; that’s what maintains our immortality. I must warn you though; for whoever has a taste of those becomes dependant to it. The same way you gain immortality thanks to it, you lose your existence once you stop. So tell me Minseok, would you like to spend eternity by my side?”

Minseok looked into Jongdae’s eyes, serious but assured. There was nothing to hesitate about. His heart and mind were one in this moment and both were screaming a thundering yes into his core. With butterflies in his belly akin to the neon blue butterflies gracefully flying around, he launched himself in the King of the Underworld’s arms.

“Yes. I would like that very much.”

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

After that day, not much had changed. Jongdae said he did not want Minseok to start the godly diet yet. They had to wait until the mortal’s twenty-fifth year on Earth. Although Minseok could not wait to spend eternity with his love, he was not that much bothered as he still got to spend and enjoy quality time with Jongdae.

Jongdae also needed the approbation of his oldest brother, the one commonly known as Zeus. As expected though, the latter did not pay much attention, only caring about his younger brother remaining in the Underworld.

They held an intimate ceremony of union in the flower field with the presence of Lu Han, his family and a few others who were close to Jongdae. It was beautiful; Minseok was wearing a flower crown and insisted on Jongdae wearing one too, which surprised the guests who were not used to the King of the Underworld looking so soft. Different creatures Minseok had never seen before were there to play music on lyres, other were bringing in food and drinks. They exchanged vows under an arch made from all the neon blue butterflies quietly flapping their wings but mostly staying still to maintain the visual structure. It was doves that brought them a chalice filled with nectar and a plate filled with ambrosia. They fed each other and drank some and finally, they kissed each other to seal their union. The attendance was clapping but Minseok could only focus on the sweet taste of Jongdae’s lips and his overwhelming scent. They smiled at each other, happy and content.

The celebration went on for a longer time; they chatted, danced and did everything you would do at a wedding. At the end of the day, when they went back to the bedroom, Minseok was convinced that this could not have been more perfect. Sure, it lacked mortals’ traditions but overall, nothing was missed. There was, however, one thought bothering him.

“Do you know that according to mortals’ traditions, one of the grooms take the last name of the other? I’ve never asked you about yours… What is it?” Minseok asked, once they both found themselves alone in the bed.

“I don’t have one.” Jongdae simply answered. The thumb that was caressing his hand suddenly halted its movements.

“You don’t?”

Jongdae shook his head.

“Then you can take mine. Kim. Kim Jongdae. Doesn’t that sound good?” Minseok asked excitedly.

Jongdae fondly looked at the one he called his soul mate. There was no feeling in the world as powerful as the love he felt for the former mortal. He would do everything to make sure Minseok would always be happy.

“It sounds perfect. Kim Minseok and Kim Jongdae.” He smiled that smile only Minseok knew of. That blinding smile that could make one wonder why Jongdae was the one who ended up living in such darkness. Minseok believed the truth was that only Jongdae would have been able to bring so much light to this dark environment. It was not a bad thing in the end, as only Minseok would have the privilege to admire it. For eternity.

**Author's Note:**

> You know how they say diamonds are made under pressure? I hope this is what can be said about this fic. I wrote 3k words at most since I've claimed it in October and waited for the last three days before submission to complete it. I hope the end does not seem too rushed, I am not the best at writing domestic scenes but I'll learn!
> 
> I hope the prompter is satisfied with the end result anyways. I'm sorry I do everything at the very last minute, it's just part of who I am... Hell, I even could not answer to the check-in mails in time!
> 
> Also very sorry that due to my bad habits this work is unbeta-ed... As someone whose native language is not English, I did try my best. I hope it has been an enjoyable reading for you anyways!
> 
> Please leave kudos and a comment if you liked it! 
> 
> Thank you for reading! xx


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